Championship

• There were sub-plots a-plenty at St Andrew's as Alex McLeish, who rumour has it may soon go the way of Billy Davies at Nottingham Forest, made an unhappy return to his old West Midlands stomping ground.

McLeish had paved the way for his return by attacking his former boss, Birmingham City bigwig Peter Pannu, and apparently falling out with his new boss, Forest Chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi: a rift caused by Forest's failure to sign George Boyd from Peterborough because of an eye condition.

Added to this, both teams have been struggling for form, with the Blues and Forest only managing to notch up one win in the last six each.

Two goals from Chris Burke put Birmingham into control, before a late penalty from Billy Sharp brought the game to a frantic finish.

The victory led Pannu to retort: "McLeish is just an antagonist. Look what is happening at Nottingham Forest between him and the new owners there. How long did that take? He does not have the guts to admit failure and to face the stick from the fans."

But after the harsh dismissal of Sean O'Driscoll, too many more poor performances and stick from the Forest fans will not be in short supply.

• Happier times may be returning to Ewood Park as draw specialist Michael Appleton (more than a third of his games as a manager have ended in stalemates) notched up his first league win as Rovers' boss against Bristol City.

The hero of the hour was Jordan Rhodes, who scored twice to notch up 100 league goals in a 2-0 win.

• Ipswich without a win in six and the lowest scorers in the division, belied their status as relegation strugglers by thrashing promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough 4-0 at Portman Road. New Zealand international Tommy Smith netting a brace for Mick McCarthy's men.

League One

• With Swindon in crisis and Doncaster reeling after the departure of manager Dean Saunders, long time leaders Tranmere gave credence to the idea that League One is wide open after slipping to their second defeat in three, a surprise 0-1 loss at home to Carlisle. Rory Loy scored the goal for the Cumbrians.

• The club formerly known as Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic must be among the favourites to pick up the pieces of the turmoil at the top of the division. Eddie Howe's AFC Bournemouth beat promotion rivals MK Dons 3-0 away to move up to third, while second place Doncaster went down 2-0 at Bury. The pugnacious Shakers have been bolstered by some smart transfer window shopping by boss Kevin Blackwell and will surely move steadily away from the drop.

• Yeovil Town are perhaps the pick of the outsiders with a sniff of promotion. Shrewdly managed by Gary Johnson, the Glovers, who are peppered with hardy league pros like James Hayter, beat the slick, youthful and consistently inconsistent Brentford 3-0 to record their fifth straight victory.

• Oldham Athletic made it a hat-trick of League One clubs who followed up a fine FA Cup performance with a league defeat by going down 3-1 at Walsall. The Saddlers are (ahem) also form horses worth keeping an eye on as the race for League One play-off spots hots up. Striker Jamie Paterson, who scored twice this afternoon, is one to watch.

League Two

• Port Vale moved to the summit of League Two by virtue of a 3-0 win over Accrington Stanley. Two goals from newly-signed veteran striker Lee Hughes, and another from newly-signed veteran defender Darren Purse, sealing a comfortable victory at Vale Park.

• Gary Alexander was another veteran making a decisive impact at a new League Two club. The former Millwall and Leyton Orient stalwart netting on his debut for AFC Wimbledon to help secure an invaluable point against high-flying Burton Albion at Kingsmeadow. Unbeaten in five, basement club Dons are now just two points from safety.

• Morecambe pulled off the performance of the day. Lewis Alessandra, Kevin Ellison and the prolific former Man City trainee Jack Redshaw, enlivening a mid-table clash with the goals that gave the Shrimps a 4-1 victory over York City at Bootham Crescent.